Facebook Messenger Faces Backlash; Here’s The Workaround For The App

Facebook Messenger faced backlash from the users claiming that it breaches their privacy. The reason behind all the fuss against the Messenger app is the permissions it needs in order to work. Since Facebook is making it compulsory for the people to use their Messenger app to access their Facebook messages on their smartphones, many people are giving thumbs down to Facebook for this move.

According to the permissions written on Google Play, Facebook Messenger app can find accounts on the device, read contacts as well as edit, read and receive text messages. If that wasn’t enough, it can “directly call phone numbers, modify or delete files on USB storage, take pictures and videos, record audio, download files without notification, control vibration and change network connectivity,” as noted by Daily Mail.

Hence the users see all these accesses by the app as privacy violation and have given negative ratings to the app on Google Play Store.

But there is a workaround that lets you access your Facebook messages in the main app without downloading the Messenger app. Here is how to do it (via The Guardian):

When you are told in the Facebook app that you need to download Messenger in order to access your messages, just choose to download the Messenger.

You will be redirected to the App Store or Google play. Once the download begins, stop it before it is completed.

That’s it. Just go back to your Facebook app and you will be able to access your messages like before.

For those who have already installed the app and want to access messages in the main app, they can remove the app and follow the procedure mentioned above.

Another way to access messages without using the app is that you place a bookmark of messages from the Facebook mobile website on your home screen and use it to access your messages just like the app.

Facebook may update its app soon to avoid this loophole. The company will be removing messages from the main app so you will not be able to access your messages in any way except the Messenger.

Some people are claiming that although the app requires suspicious permissions, it is okay to allow those permissions because they are using Facebook as a free service. Some believe that Facebook needs those permissions in order to make their app work. For example, the camera access which is being highly criticized by privacy-conscious people is required in order to let them take photos on-the-go while having conversation with their friends.

Facebook is rolling out its Messenger app gradually, and the process may take several weeks but eventually every mobile Facebook user will be forced to download the separate chat app.